The Oakland A's woke up their Bay Area fans with news of a jolting trade.
He gone.
After winning the home run derby two years in a row and being one of Oakland’s most feared hitters, Yoenis Cespedes was moved to Boston for pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes.
The blisteringly shocking trade was announced early Thursday morning and took much of the A’s fan base aback.
Many voiced their disapproval on Twitter, the departure of Cespedes being the primary chomping bit. The 28-year-old Cuban refugee figuratively moved hell and high water to come play baseball in America and will now play in the greatest ballpark in the land.
During his two and one-half seasons with Oakland, Cespedes hit 66 home runs and played in 365 games.
What the A’s got in return was a whole lot of defense. Lester, a 30-year-old left-hander brings the second-best winning percentage among American League active pitchers to Oakland.
The Tacoma, Wash. native has posted a 110-63 record (.636) and 3.64 ERA in 242 games and spent the last nine seasons with Boston.
Gomes, who played on Oakland’s road to redemption 2012 team, will be at least some solace to the A’s fan base. He departed right after that season and went on to aid the Red Sox to their second World Series title in the last 10 years.
Gomes is batting .246 in 78 games for Boston with 6 home runs and 32 RBIs.
A’s general manager Billy Beane will hold a press conference later on Thursday evening to discuss these moves, as well as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
Follow @SFBay and @JLeskiwNFL on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of the Oakland Athletics.
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